The Girl Who Dared to Stand

by Bella Forrest

  I shrugged, fiddling with the dormant net between my fingers. “I mean, yeah. Where should I carry it? Will we be able to communicate with you? Are there any side effects for you or for me that I should be aware of?”

  “Oh, actually, it’s extremely non-invasive, and while the nets you are using are comparatively rudimentary, they are comprised of the same material.”

  “So?” I asked, wondering what the material had to do with anything. “What does that matter?”

  “So, the white one in your hand can be worn externally over an implanted one. A filament will emerge from the implant, and connect with the net. Before you ask, no, you won’t be able to access any information from me, nor will we share thoughts. You will not feel what I feel, and vice-versa. This is just a ride, and the filament that I’m connected through is the seatbelt keeping me in place for it.”

  I cocked my head, and then smiled excitedly. “A seatbelt is part of a car, right?”

  He gave me a look, but I continued to smile. I would not apologize for being excited when I recognized something from the past.

  “Anyway,” he said, ignoring the question, “I will be able to communicate with you and anyone standing within five feet of me, but that’s as far as my signal goes. Would you… Would you be the one to carry me?”

  I got the sense from the nervous way he asked, that he was almost worried that I would say no, and I had to wonder why it mattered. If he couldn’t share thoughts or emotions, then I didn’t think anyone would have a problem with carrying him.

  And then I realized, it wasn’t about just anyone carrying him. He was asking me specifically, and I suddenly realized that this was a big deal for him. He had little choice in a lot of things, but the person who would carry him? That he did have a choice in. And he had chosen me.

  “I’d be honored,” I said, and the nervousness evaporated under the glow of his gratitude. I stood there for a second, awkward now that he was smiling at me so gratefully that I thought my eyes would explode from the brightness alone. “So, with this net… What do I have to do?” I asked, trying to get us back on track.

  “Place the net on the pad, just to the left and over the keyboard,” he replied, moving up behind me to peer over my shoulder. I tensed, half expecting to feel the air of his breath on my neck, but there was nothing, reminding me yet again how different he really was. I followed his instructions, depositing the white thing on a pad that popped out from the wall a few feet above his terminal. The edges of it lit up a soft violet.

  A flash of light out of the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I turned in time to see the holographic image of Leo fading from view, the beams of lights creating his image flickering a few times before dying completely. The entire room hummed as the light emitted by the scanning pad began to pulse in a rhythmic fashion. I took a step back, suddenly worried about Leo’s mainframe and the stress this was putting on it. If it broke, he’d be stuck in the net until we found him a new home.

  The humming grew and grew, until I could feel the vibration of it, a continuous buzz that seemed ominous and foreboding, through my rubber-soled boots. I took yet another step away from it, my eyes growing wide in alarm as the swirling colors on the pad began to grow even brighter.

  Then, as suddenly as it began, the humming died down to a stop, and the light flickered. The screen on the terminal was black, but I saw a white indicator light flashing white in the top right corner. The machine was still on.

  I picked up the net with one hand, lifted my hair off my neck with the other, and quickly pressed the net to the place where my new net had been installed yesterday. I felt it drag itself over a few centimeters before nestling down on my skin. Goosebumps erupted all over my arms at the odd sensation, but I gritted my teeth through it, fighting for calm.

  “Leo?” I asked.

  I’m here, he replied, his voice coming through my ear implant. I exhaled in relief—not just because he was fine, but also because the buzz in my head was significantly less with him there. It was almost like he had muted it.

  I couldn’t be sure of what he had done or how he’d done it; I just knew that he was now along for the ride—and if talking to him was going to be one of the perks of carrying him around, I had to admit it was a pleasant one.

  “How do you feel?”

  The same, really, although some of my senses are completely numb here. However, I should be able to access the cameras within range to help mitigate some of it. At least, I hope I will. I’m a little apprehensive to see what it’s like up there.

  “So what else can this nifty net do?” I asked, recalling that he had briefly insinuated, in passing, that it could do more than just this.

  Well, contain a full AI unit, obviously.

  “Anything else?”

  There was a pause while I waited, and finally he replied, Yes.

  A single word with nothing to follow, and I was fairly confident that he didn’t intend to share any more than that.

  “C’mon, Leo, you can’t ask me to help you out like this and then expect me to take your lack of explanation well.”

  It’s not that; it’s classified. I’m not supposed to tell you, and some parts of my programming are strong. I’m sorry—I can’t. It’s need-to-know.

  I wasn’t satisfied with his answer, and I could tell he wasn’t happy about keeping it from me, but he wasn’t budging.

  “Well, I’m letting it go for now,” I informed him, and my net buzzed in response, with his chuckle. “How’s your terminal?”

  It’s still operational and running. The programs I left to fend off the virus are operating within system parameters, and I’m confident that leaving it for a little while will be fine.

  I hoped he was right. Even though I was inviting him along with us, with the intention of helping him meet Jasper, I was still afraid of what would happen if he were discovered. More importantly, I was afraid of what would happen to us if someone found out we had him. I had to hope that no one would discover him, or, if they did, they wouldn’t understand how important and influential he was.

  I headed back toward the vent, Leo in tow, to fill everyone in on his new role in the plan.

  26

  I entered the room quietly, the lowered lights inside the common area alerting me that people were sleeping, and swiftly moved through the curtains, following the slight sounds coming from the workroom.

  As I moved around Zoe’s hammock, I paused and smiled. She and Eric were lying together, pressed back to front, with their hands laced. Both were fast asleep, and as I looked around, I realized that Eric’s hammock had disappeared from where it had been hanging next to hers, freeing up a bit more space.

  I watched them a few moments longer than I really should have, before continuing to the workroom. I was happy to see they had finally resolved their issues, and surprised to see how forward they were being. Sharing hammocks seemed like the equivalent of sharing quarters, but even more intimate, as it forced you to lay pressed together, close and tight. For a moment, I wondered what it would feel like to lie like that with Grey, and my face flamed with a searing heat that I could feel in my bones. I quickly moved away—from both them and the racy image that my mind had conjured up.

  I stepped into the workroom. Grey and Quess were both bent over something. Grey was holding a small, bright light, and Quess was wearing a pair of goggles, some sort of tool I didn’t quite recognize in his hand. I smiled at the sight of them; whatever they were working with utilized some sort of static charge, because both Quess’s dark waves and Grey’s blond locks were standing upright.

  There was a short zzt sound, followed by a sharp pop and flash of light. I shielded my eyes while Quess made a victorious grunt. I lowered my hand in time to see him picking up the framework that consisted of several small round pipes, a welded handle, and some sort of crank on the side, and holding it to his shoulder.

  “This is gonna be perfect,” he crowed. Grey gave a pointed look toward the corner to the left
of me, pressing his fingers to his lips. I looked down to see that Tian had dragged some of her blankets and Commander Cuddles into the workroom and created a new nest for herself on the floor. Currently, she was asleep in a position that was uniquely Tian: legs braced on the wall with her back flat on the ground. Commander Cuddles was now serving as her pillow, but it looked like her hair was serving as his blanket, so I was pretty sure this was a mutually agreed-upon position.

  I looked back to see Quess reluctantly handing the weapon over to Grey, an abashed look on his face. “Hey, guys,” I said, pitching my voice low as I moved closer to them. “You lost Zoe and Eric.”

  “They worked on some of the more intricate and annoying bits,” Quess said, picking up a rag and rubbing some invisible spot on the weapon cradled in Grey’s hands. “And they were both fading fast. I figured I’d let them get some sleep.”

  “If only we could join them,” I halfheartedly joked, and Grey smiled.

  Inside my head, Leo laughed—and I jumped, my hand automatically going to my chest to ensure that my heart hadn’t escaped. I had half forgotten that I was carrying him during the crawl back. He hadn’t really spoken since we left, and in my sleep-deprived state, I had simply focused on other things.

  “Are you okay?” Grey asked, quickly passing the weapon back to Quess and stepping forward. His warm brown eyes gazed deeply into mine with growing concern, and I had to admit that it meant something to me that he looked at me that way. My heart skipped a beat before settling into a new, accelerated rhythm, and my mouth immediately went dry.

  I nodded, unable to form even a monosyllabic response, and he reached up to tenderly press his hand against my cheek.

  So you and Grey worked things out, huh? That’s good, because given the readings here, you are very much attracted to him. Whoo-wee, look at that pheromone spike.

  My eyes bulged, and I hurriedly took a step back, my eyes fluttering shut as a deep flush of embarrassment came over me.

  “Leo,” I hissed, my anger hotter than steam coming through an extremely narrow opening.

  Apparently, I had to have a discussion with my little passenger about etiquette, and how he could keep his nose out of any interaction between Grey and myself. Didn’t Lionel at least teach the man manners?

  What? he asked, and I still marveled at how little I felt inside my skull when he spoke. There was next to no sensation, not even a vibration in my skull, just a slight warm purr that wasn’t entirely annoying. I wanted it to be this way forever—except, not with an AI reading my net while I was in the middle of a conversation.

  “What did Leo do?” Grey asked, his brows already coming together. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

  I smiled, a soft laugh escaping me, and just like that my anger at Leo’s nerve dwindled in the light of Grey’s protective attitude. It made me feel much like I imagined Zoe was feeling right now: safe and cherished.

  “Relax,” I said soothingly, still unable to stop smiling. “Leo was being nosy, and needs to learn to keep his commentary to himself.”

  Lionel used to find my commentary endearing, the nosy AI declared smugly, and I rolled my eyes.

  Grey’s features were like a windstorm erasing and reforming sand dunes across the wastes, shifting and changing from concerned and angry to stunned… and then confused.

  “What are you talking about?”

  I sobered slightly, the weight of what I was about to tell them settling in, and gave them both a look. “Leo’s asked to come with us when we go up to the Medica,” I said carefully. Quess and Grey exchanged equally baffled looks, and Quess spoke first.

  “What do you mean, come with us?” he asked, finally setting the weapon he had just been polishing onto the table and standing up.

  I exhaled, and put on a broad smile. It was always the best way to give interesting news, in my opinion. “Leo wants to come on the mission with us,” I repeated.

  Grey’s eyebrows pulled tight. “Why?”

  “Jasper,” I said, and then I quickly explained what Leo had told me about the different AIs being tested, and then later assimilated into the version of Scipio that would become the Master AI. Grey and Quess handled that information a lot better than I thought they would, all things considered.

  “If Jasper’s one of the AIs that was used to create Scipio 2.0, how could he exist now?” Quess asked, and it was Leo who responded. I could tell by the way Quess and Grey’s eyes widened that he was transmitting to them as well, and bit back a smile.

  That’s one of many questions I intend to ask him.

  Grey’s back stiffened, and he looked at me. “What was that?” he demanded, spearing me with a look. “Was that…”

  “Leo,” I said with a smile. “He’s here.”

  “How?” Quess asked, his eyes scanning my hands and clothes, looking for some sign of the AI. “Wait, how is he even transmitting to our nets?”

  “He… um… sort of downloaded himself into my net.”

  “Into your net?” Quess asked. He swore, his eyes bugging. “Liana, the nets aren’t designed to take that kind of neural load! The data will bleed out into your brain and kill you. Grey! Get my kit—we’ll cut the bastard out!”

  Grey nodded, already turning. “I told you that AI was going to be trouble,” he said.

  “And I told you studying him was worth the risk!” Quess replied.

  “No, wait, guys, I mean—” I tried to interject.

  “There’s no waiting about this, Liana!” Grey growled, before continuing to bicker with Quess.

  Are they really going to try to kill me?! Leo exclaimed, and I could feel a flicker of his fear through the net. I wasn’t sure whether I was supposed to, but now wasn’t the time to stop and ask.

  I was about to interrupt their bickering again when a heavy hand fell on my shoulder. I looked up to see Eric standing just behind me, his other hand rubbing some of the sleep out of his eyes.

  “What’s going on?” he grumbled, his voice rough with exhaustion.

  I looked back at the pandemonium and shook my head. “I’m watching two buffoons who won’t listen to what I’m saying.”

  “Then tell them to shut up.” A groan came from behind me, and I turned to see Zoe stepping into the room, her legs bare under the oversized shirt she was wearing.

  “I’m not sure they would hear me right now, since they’re convinced I’m about to die. But if they’d just stop for a moment and let me finish what I was going to say, I could tell them that Leo is actually in a net on the back of my neck, and not actually in my net.”

  It took a second for my not-so-quiet statement to reach Grey and Quess, but when it did, the two stopped what they were doing and looked at me.

  “That’s… not… possible,” Quess said thoughtfully, and I gave him a look before turning around and lifting my hair. I heard their boots on the floor as they came up behind me, and waited for a moment.

  “Huh,” Quess said, and I felt his finger against my neck.

  Kindly do not do that, Leo’s voice announced. I heard a sharp crackle of electricity, followed by Quess’s hiss of pain. I turned in time to see him shaking his finger before sticking it into his mouth, and he looked at me askance.

  “Leo just spoke inside our nets and shocked me!” he declared around the digit in his mouth.

  “Well, you did just touch him without permission. And me, I might add.” I smiled as I said this, to show that I wasn’t upset or angry. I might’ve done the same thing.

  Eric looked at me quizzically. “Why does Leo want to come?”

  “He wants to meet Jasper. He thinks he might be another AI whose personality was integrated into 2.0’s.” At Eric’s confused look—as well as everyone else’s—I quickly explained what Leo had told me about the other AI fragments, and how all six of them came together to form Scipio 2.0. I even remembered their names, with Leo’s prompting.

  When I finished, Leo was the first to speak.

  You know, I never realized how crazy i
t sounded until I heard it coming from someone else. And then for you to have to tell it twice? You sound bananas.

  That got a laugh from me, and at Grey’s inquisitive eyebrow, I pointed at my head and mouthed Leo’s name.

  “Can you ask him to speak to all of us again, seeing as he can?” Grey said, fixing me with a significant look. “I give him my permission this time.”

  Of course, Leo transmitted, and I knew everyone was getting the message by the way they looked around the room with widening eyes. And I’m sorry for doing it without gaining your permission first. I was just very excited that Liana was gracious enough to give me a ride. However, that doesn’t change the fact that you should all have a say in whether I can communicate with you directly or not.

  “Okay, whoa. While all of this is really great and very interesting, what the hell is the lifespan of a net for an AI? Leo, how long can that thing last before the internal battery dies?”

  “Oh, wait, what?” I asked, my eyes growing large at Quess’s question. I had forgotten to consider that the net and Leo were operating off of battery life. What happened if the battery got low or even died? Did that mean Leo would die?

  “Leo?” I said, now wanting him to answer Quess’s question. The white net was different, better even, given that it still functioned after three hundred years of inactivity, so Leo had to have taken that into account. Besides, Lionel had used it to take Leo out—he wouldn’t have done that if he hadn’t created a way to keep him alive.

  A day, Leo admitted begrudgingly. Technically, twenty-two hours now, since I had to shock Quess to remind him of his manners.

  I pressed my lips together and considered this new information for a second. “What happens if the battery drains with you inside of the net?” I asked him.

  Leo paused. That would be bad. Normally, if my terminal were in perfect working condition, I could be transferred back into it after the net regained some charge. However, I would lose all of my memories from my time in the net as a result.

  He stopped talking. I waited for him to explain what would happen now that his terminal wasn’t working perfectly (considering he was infected with a virus). When he didn’t, I realized he wouldn’t until I asked. Because he knew we might not like the answer.